942 The Verve - A Storm In Heaven (1993)

 942 The Verve - A Storm In Heaven (1993)

Studio Album - Space Rock




About the Act:

Wigan, Lancashire, England, 1990, the band known as "Verve" was born. Later they became "The Verve". They were kind of lumped in with the Indie/Britpop scene. They are probably best known for their hits "Bitter Sweet Symphony", "The Drugs Don't Work" and "Lucky Man". They kept a fairly stable line-up, but their existence was sporadic. They managed to squeeze out four albums.


About the Album:

This was the first album, and before they became hit popsters. It is often described as either psychedelic rock or space rock.


My History with this Album:

None


Review:

So let's deal with this description. Space rock? Well, kind of. Psychedelic? In a way. Generally this kind of spacey atmosphere is created by heavy use of echo and reverb, especially on the guitar, which enhances this by being played in an open, washy, dreamy kind of way. The bass and drums support this by playing in a way that rolls along. This makes an overall sound that is open (as opposed to tight) and expansive.  There is quite a bit of improvisation going on, and all in all it sounds like some of the early 70s/late 60s psychedelic experiments. It's really easy to do this in a mediocre way, but this is not mediocre, it is subtle, but it is well done, with skill, the music creates a moment, an atmosphere. Apparently much of the album was composed in the studio, while recording, late at night, with dope being smoked. 

There are differences between tracks, but the album as a whole gives an overall feel and impression, much more organic than most music of the time, to feature improvisation was almost unheard of in the pop/rock world, so hats off to them. The words... well they are mostly quite mellow in the mix, and some of those are made up on the spot too. It's really more about the vibe.

I enjoyed it. As this stuff goes it's pretty good to be honest, but it's probably a bit of an acquired taste. It is certainly not singable pop hits.


7/10


Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/album/67PdmKLom1PcFJavDAaEtE

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL0Yz-P1uQT4rZz7J0CFuuB45QSffWw6Y1

Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Storm_in_Heaven


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